Sickness
by hurkydoesntknow
Summary: Barney gets sick with a bad illness but a certain someone takes care of him. One shot.


**Hello everyone! This is my first How I Met Your Mother fanfic, very excited at the moment. I've just started watching the show about two months ago thanks to my boyfriend and now I can't stop recording all the reruns on my DVR and watching them! Anyway, I got this idea from looking at a fanart picture and it made me think of this! Please forgive me if I get something wrong about the characters, I'm still learning the show. So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own How I Met Your Mother.**

* * *

><p>It was a very chilly evening in New York City. The sky was dark blue for the first time in a while. Recently, there had been some continuous snowfalls that would go on for a while and then stop, but the sky had not cleared, however, tonight was different.<p>

Marshall Eriksen and Barney Stinson were walking towards their usual bar, MacLaren's, for a drink and to say hi to their friends. They had a long day working at Goliath National Bank and they needed a drink to lift their spirits.

Marshall was complaining about the cold a little bit, but Barney had been silent the whole time. In fact, he had been quiet the whole day. Barney had been suffering from a cold for a week. He hadn't been sleeping with any women for the past few days and he had not been trying to pick up any women, either. Lately, he had been returning home from the bar and crashing on his bed or couch and taking a long rest until the next morning.

The two men opened the door to the pub and walked inside where a rush of warm air had hit them. To Barney, it felt nice because the cold air had not been helping his nose or chest. It was at a point where it hurt for him to breathe in the icy weather.

Marshall spotted his friend, Robin Scherbatsky, and his wife Lily Aldrin at their usual booth.

"Hi Marshmallow!" Lily said cheerfully, jumping from her seat to kiss her tall husband.

"Hey," said Marshall adoringly, kissing his wife before taking a seat next to her in the booth.

Barney took a seat next to Robin, a tall brown haired woman.

"Hey, where's Ted?" asked Marshall as he removed his coat and scarf.

"He's coming," replied Robin. "He's just upstairs, trying to finish a project. He's been driving me crazy with it!"

Ted Mosby was an architect who designing a new restaurant. It wasn't a very important project, but it was something for him to do before something bigger, like a skyscraper, came along. What was bad about his job was that he had to present the idea to the company who was going to build. He had to persuade them to use his idea instead of other competing architects and their ideas.

"How has he been driving you crazy?" asked Lily.

"Well, he keeps telling me to be quiet a lot," answered Robin. "I can't even have the TV on! I have the volume to the lowest setting and he still tells me it's too loud!"

"We need to get him laid," Barney jokingly said in a weak and raspy voice.

Robin and Lily rolled their eyes and Barney's comment and ignored it.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," said a man with messy black hair wearing a sweater and slacks.

"Hey Ted," everyone chorused.

Ted pulled a chair and sat with his friends at the booth.

"So, you guys wanna get some drinks?" he asked. "On me!"

The girls cheered and Marshall high fived Ted. Barney fist bumped Ted, as well.

"Hi guys, what can I get for you today?" asked Wendy the Waitress.

"Hey Wendy, can we get 5 beers?" asked Ted.

"Of course," said Wendy, jotting down the orders.

"Can I get a glass of water?" Barney asked quietly.

Wendy nodded as she wrote down _water_ on her pad of paper. "And anything to eat?"

"Cheeseburger," said Ted and Lily.

"Mozzarella Sticks," said Marshall.

"Fish and chips," said Robin.

"Nothing else for me," said Barney.

"It'll be right up," Wendy finished, and walked away.

"So anything good happen?" asked Lily.

"Nah, GNB booted another person today simply because they said they liked the weather," replied Marshall. "For some reason, Barney wasn't a part of it. He stayed in his office the whole time."

Everyone turned and looked at Barney, who was leaning his head on his hand. Lily, being a kindergarten teacher, noticed that Barney wasn't looking good.

"Barney, are you alright?" she asked. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," denied Barney.

Lily leaned across the table and felt the blonde man's forehead. "You're warm," she said.

"Barney, when was the last time you slept with anyone?" asked Marshall.

"Two days ago," lied Barney.

"That's funny, cause I called your phone last night and no girl answered it," Marshall said.

"I was asleep," defended Barney. "After having some good sex."

Everyone stopped talking about Barney and instead talked about whatever woman Ted was going out with. Barney made very little commentary on the conversation. Instead, he was thinking about how miserable he was. His head was pounding from the headache and the room was spinning. The food and drinks came eventually, but Barney was sipping on his water more than his beer. In fact, he never even opened his beer.

"Barney?" asked Marshall as he waved a hand in front of Barney's eyes. "You awake?"

Barney snapped back to reality. "Wha?" he asked.

"I asked if you were sure you're okay?" asked Marshall.

"Really, I'm fine," said Barney. "I'm more than fine, I'm awesome."

"I don't think so," said Ted. "There were tons of hot women in here and you didn't even get up and try to get them in bed with you."

Barney remained silent. His chest was heaving and it was getting harder to breathe. He looked around and spotted a blonde woman wearing a short green dress was sitting at the bar, alone, and sipping on a martini.

"Think I'll go get her," Barney said as he pointed at her. He stood up slowly and began to walk over to the woman when he felt lightheaded and dizzy. He grabbed onto the table for support. He regained his balance and began to walk again.

"You can do this, Stinson..." Barney said to himself. He tried to brush off the awful feelings, but it kept getting worse with his chest now hurting with each breath he took. Finally, his exhausted body gave in, losing consciousness and collapsing to the floor.

Robin looked over to where Barney had been walking after hearing a loud _thud_ and saw Barney on the floor, unconscious. She gasped.

"Barney!" she cried, getting out of the booth and running over to Barney.

Ted, Lily, and Marshall, who were facing the opposite direction, turned their heads to see Robin standing over Barney.

"Barney!" they all cried, getting up and going to Barney.

"Hey buddy, wake up!" said Marshall, lightly tapping at Barney's face.

He remained lifeless.

Ted checked for a pulse while Marshall folded his coat to make a pillow and put it underneath Barney's head. Lily was calling for an ambulance on her cell phone while Robin just stood there.

Once the ambulance got there, the emergency workers loaded Barney onto a gurney while the patrons of the bar looked on. The gang followed behind.

"Anyone want to ride with him to the hospital?" asked one of the paramedics while Barney was loaded into the ambulance.

The friends exchanged glances at each other. Finally, Marshall raised a hand.

"I'll ride with him," he said.

The paramedic motioned for Marshall to come with him. He tossed his coat and scarf to Lily and said they could meet up with him at the hospital. Then, Marshall jumped into the ambulance and they sped off to the hospital.

"I'll hail a cab." offered Robin, still in shock but remaining calm. She stretched out her arm when suddenly, a familiar black car pulled over and rolled down the window.

"Hello!" said a cheery voice.

"Ranjit, thank goodness you're here!" said Lily. "Barney's sick and he collapsed and we need a ride to the hospital. Can you take us, please?"

Ranjit smiled and gestured for everyone to come in. The gang piled into the car, with Ted in front and the women in the back.

Meanwhile, in the ambulance, Barney regained consciousness and saw that he was in a lighted ambulance with an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and Marshall sitting over him while the paramedics worked on him.

"Buddy!" said Marshall.

"What's going on?" asked Barney.

"You passed out in MacLaren's," explained Marshall in a panicked voice. "You're being taken to the hospital."

Barney tried to sit up but the straps from the gurney prevented him from doing so.

"Sir, please lie down," said a female paramedic. "Try not to struggle,"

Barney was going to make a joke about that when he suddenly lost consciousness again. He didn't wake up again until later, when he discovered he was in a white room, wearing a hospital gown, an IV in his arm, and breathing tubes in his nose.

"Barney?" asked a voice.

Barney looked up and saw Ted, Marshall, Lily, and Robin walking in. They all looked shaken up and panicked, but they were relieved to see their friend awake again.

"Hey," Barney said weakly. A pain panged in his chest and he clutched it and coughed, dry heaving in the process. "What's going on?"

Ted opened his mouth to say something when the sound of someone knocking called everyone's attention over to the door, where there was a tall man with blonde hair, blonde mustache, and glasses wearing a labcoat over a white shirt and black tie and slacks came in.

"Hello," he said, walking in and holding a clipboard. "Barney Stinson?"

Barney nodded. "That's me," he said.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Mitchner," said the doctor. "I came in here to check a few things. Mind if you sit up for a little bit?"

Barney struggled, especially since he was tied down by machines, but Lily went over and helped him sit up. Dr. Mitchner walked over and put his stethoscope on Barney's chest.

"Breathe," he instructed.

Barney breathed, but shallow and painfully. The doctor did this in several spots on his back, as well. Dr. Mitchner put his stethoscope away and took out a tiny flashlight, which he used to look into Barney's mouth, ears, nose, eyes, and down his throat.

"Your throat's a little inflamed," noted Dr. Mitchner. He looked through his clipboard. "Well, based on the thorough examination and what you're displaying here, I've come to the conclusion that you have an upper respiratory infection, Mr. Stinson. If you hadn't come in here tonight, it would have turned into pneumonia by morning."

"So what's going to happen?" asked Lily worriedly.

"I'm going to have him spend the rest of the night here," concluded Dr. Mitchner. "He'll be released tomorrow and I'm going to put him on some antibiotics and painkillers. He'll need strict bedrest for the next week and he needs to ingest a lot of warm liquids like soup or tea."

With that, he walked out of the door while the gang thanked him.

"We can't leave you alone for the next week," said Ted. "You're going to come stay with me and Robin for the next week."

"Aww, why can't I go home?" asked Barney.

"Because your house has nothing essential for taking care of an illness such as yours!" replied Lily. She had been the only one so far who had seen Barney's apartment. A TV the size or an entire wall? A porno collection that's professionally lit? One pillow? No food? No way.

Barney sighed and agreed to come stay with Ted and Robin for the next week. Everyone stayed for a little after that until Barney started to doze off and it was already past midnight, so the gang said their goodbyes and Ted told Barney he would be back the next morning for him...

* * *

><p>The next morning, at 8am, it was after Robin's 4am news shift when she was walking home. She had not gotten any sleep at all last night. Once she got home, she got herself ready for work and left.<p>

Robin yawned as she clutched a cup of coffee in her hand and her purse in the other when she entered her apartment that she shared with Ted. That was when she found Barney asleep on the couch, with an empty glass and some pill bottles next to him.

Robin went to her room, set her coffee down, and plopped on her bed, where she fell into a short nap. She woke up a few hours later.

"Ugh..." she groaned. She turned to her clock, which read 1:14pm. She rubbed her eyes and stood up.

She walked into the living room where she found Barney once again.

_So it's not a dream_, she thought to herself.

Barney stirred in his sleep, looking very uncomfortable. He was a bit tall for the couch. Robin didn't understand why Ted didn't just forfeit his bed to Barney for the week.

She walked over to Barney and gently shook him. "Hey,"

Barney remained silent. Robin shook harder.

"Hey!" she said a little louder.

Barney opened his eyes and saw Robin standing over him. "I'm trying to sleep," he said.

"Barney, I don't want you sleeping on the couch," Robin said. "Come on, get up. You can sleep in my bed."

Without a word, Barney managed to sit up. He pulled the blanket away and revealed that he was wearing a gray shirt and black sweatpants. No suit, not even his suitjamas, which were a silky version of a suit.

Robin noticed Barney was having trouble standing up, so she put his arm around her shoulders and assisted him. She walked slowly, so she wouldn't make him dizzy. They managed to reach her room, where Barney slid into the covers and immediately began to doze off.

"You need anything?" asked Robin. "Some soup? More blankets?"

"Ice cream?" asked Barney.

"No, we've been through this before, Barney. You can't have ice cream when you're sick!" Robin said in exasperation, remembering the last time he was sick. "You need hot things-"

"-a hot lady?" Barney interrupted.

Robin sighed. "I give up!" she said, throwing her arms in the air. "I'll be back later to check up on you."

She walked out of the room as Barney fell back into a deep sleep.

Barney awoke to a dark room. He still felt terrible, but as long as he was lying down, he was good.

The door creaked open and in came Robin with a tray carrying a bowl of soup, a glass of water, and the bottles of medication. "Hey," she greeted with a smile as she turned on the light. "Feeling any better?"

"Little," mumbled Barney.

"I brought you some chicken soup and your medicine," said Robin. She set the tray on the nightstand next to the bed.

Robin helped Barney sit up and he slowly ate his soup while Robin was gathering a few things in her room.

"What are you doing?" asked Barney.

"I'm going to be sleeping in the living room," answered Robin as she pulled out an extra blanket from her closet. "It's only 7:30 but I like to cuddle on the couch and watch TV til I fall asleep. I do it quite frequently."

Barney finished the remainder of his soup and set the bowl down. He began to lie back down when Robin stopped him.

"It's time for your medicine," said Robin, opening the bottle of antibiotics and dropping a pink pill onto her hand. Then she opened the painkiller medicine and took out a white pill. She handed the pills to Barney. He just stared at them.

"I don't normally swallow pills," he said.

"Well, you can learn," Robin said bluntly. "I just pop 'em and drink the water."

Barney slowly tried to put the pills in his mouth, but the chalky texture and taste caused him to spit it out. "Yuck!" he said.

"Okay, try drinking the water first, and then pop the pills," directed Robin.

Barney tried but he ended up spilling water all over the blankets and the floor. Robin tried several methods but they did not work. She was about to give up when she got an idea.

"Let me go make you some chamomile tea," she suggested.

Robin went over to the kitchen where she boiled the water in the kettle. She took a teabag, steeped it in the mug of boiling water, ground up the pills and dumped them in the tea. She took the steaming mug over to the room.

"Here you go!" she said with a smile. _Please, please, just drink it!_

Barney thanked her and took several sips of his tea. He liked the taste of it and kept drinking. Before he knew it, the tea was gone and he was knocked out again. Robin smiled to herself and took the empty bowl and mug and took it back to the kitchen...

Several days had passed. Ted helped take care of Barney for a little bit before his presentation, so he began to stress out while Robin took care of Barney. His condition began to improve as the days went by. Barney's chest stopped hurting, his coughs went down, his fever broke, and he was regaining his strength.

Finally, one evening, as Robin sat in her pajamas watching a movie in the living room, she heard someone's throat clearing. She looked and saw Barney standing next to the couch. He even looked a lot better. The color had even returned to his skin. Robin smiled at the sight.

"Hey, Robin," said Barney. "Mind if I sit with you?"

Robin smiled. She patted the seat next to her and Barney sat down.

"Listen, I want to say thanks for helping me get better," Barney said in a serious tone of voice. "I mean, Ted wasn't very useful, but you put up with me being difficult."

"No problem," said Robin.

She continued to watch her movie when she felt something on her cheek. She looked and saw that Barney had pressed his lips against her cheek. She was stunned.

"B-Barney!" she said, blushing.

Barney smiled his "I'm awesome" smile.

Robin smiled and handed some of her blanket to Barney. He took it and cuddled with Robin while covering themselves.

They watched the remainder of the movie together when some sitcoms came on, but Robin was already asleep. Barney yawned and fell asleep next to her, as well.

In the middle of the night, Ted came home from drinking at MacLaren's with Marshall and Lily. He looked up and saw Robin and Barney, peacefully sleeping on the couch together. Ted smiled to himself and walked over to the couch, where he saw that some of the blanket had slipped off the couple. He pulled it up and Robin burrowed more underneath the blanket and wrapped her arms around Barney, who was smiling in his sleep.

"Glad you're doing better, buddy," whispered Ted.

He turned off the TV, lights, and went into his own room.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it! Wrote it in a course of a few hours, but I'm very happy I did this. I figured if I wrote it into chapters, I'd never get around to finishing it. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Peace out!<strong>


End file.
